Shared Decision Making in Early Childhood Research: A Foundation for Successful Community-University Partnerships

Abstract

The purpose of the paper was to examine the relationship between shared decision making and successful community-university research partnerships. Community partners and university researchers from 60 different partnership projects completed the Head Start Research Partnership Questionnaire that assessed the level of shared decision making of key partnership participants. The questionnaire also addressed the formation, maintenance, and focus of the partner- ship, community partners' levels of participation in the research, overall satisfaction with the partnership process, and the perceived value of the projects' findings and products. Respondents whose projects had a high level of shared decision making were compared to respondents whose projects had a low level of shared decision making. Results showed that high levels of shared decision making among partnership members led to more openly expressed and valued differences of opinion, better defined roles among partners, higher levels of concern for cultu...